Jazz Festival at La Villette
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Coming from a family of artists, raised on soul and raggae, the British acid jazz pioneer with eight albums has been shaking up the indie scene for almost forty years. He will perform Saturday at the Jazz à La Villette festival.
There’s Nothing Like This… Omar didn’t think he was so right when he released this emblematic title of a new English wave that was sweeping across Europe in 1990. In this flood of combos mixing on the altar of house influences on the borders of jazz and downtempo funk reminiscences that were so quickly christened acid jazz, the South London native will represent the soul voice, carried by this song that has everything of the classic. From this ephemeral movement that had little jazz and really nothing acid, some names will emerge that appear as quickly as they disappear, the Young Disciples at the head, while Galliano, a flagship group, is the subject of a late resurrection this summer. The one named Omar has never stopped, but his career, approaching its fourth decade, is still marked by its thunderous beginnings. He will play at the Périphérique this Saturday, in Paris, as part of Jazz à La Villette.
Thirty-four years and a slew of singles later, this Motown-style serenade that had him flirting with the top of the pop charts remains his most enduring hit on the platforms. “Should I regret having had this biggest success with my first album? No, because it didn’t stop me from exploring many styles of music afterwards, which has always been the driving force of my career, even if some people ask you to reproduce the same recipe. Not my thing! I don’t think people really need what they already know. And
